Thompson Reviews » Books

Draw and Write Through History

admin — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:19:41 +0000

Carylee Gressman has developed some really neat books for homeschoolers or parents who wish to further their child’s art education. Her method uses the natural progression of history and includes simple step-by-step drawings which most children will find easy enough to follow. I hesitate to give an age limit on this, as some children’s motor skills are more advanced than others at various ages.

Along with the drawings are simple lessons on history and the object being drawn. For instance, in the Greece and Rome: c.600 B.C. TO A.D. 395, there are snippets of information on the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Parthenon and other time specific places, people and animals.

Geared toward the homeschool market, the books unabashedly take a creationist approach (Creation Through Jonah is one title).

We can recommend these books both for their educational value as well as their overall content.

Draw and Write Through History (Creation through Jonah, Volume 1)

Draw and Write Through History Greece and Rome (2)

Draw and Write: The Vikings, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance

The Runaway Jury, Grisham

admin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 02:05:10 +0000

John Grisham is a well known fiction author whose specialty is riveting mysteries, usually involving some aspect of the legal profession. The Runaway Jury has much to be said for the storytelling part, but there are issues as with most Grisham novels. This review is written as a bit of an open letter to John Grisham as well as to our readers.

The Runaway Jury

John Grisham, 1996

ISBN 0-440-22147-1

The essence of the plot is that Big Tobacco is facing yet another lawsuit. However, because of the location of the trial, there is some fear of the unknown on the part of the conglomerate and their behind-the-scenes attack dog, Fitch. When Fitch is contacted by someone outside the jury who seems to be able to predict and possibly control the actions of the jurors, the action heats up, as Fitch anticipates an opportunity to make a big money deal which sends a verdict the way that the industry needs. The ending is, of course, a bit of a twist on what one might expect to occur, although it is foreshadowed.

I've read a handful of Grisham novels. John, you've done a great job of writing books which keep the reader tied into the story line. You have a handy way of turning phrases and developing characters. But I have to say I'm sorely disappointed that you find it necessary to use cursing and swearing in your novels.

I have a friend who has read all of your books. He told me, "At some point, John became a Christian." So I tried to look at books with later dates than the first couple I read thinking that perhaps I was reading the "unsanctified" John Grisham versus the "clean minded" John Grisham. (I've read The Client, The Broker, The Last Juror, The Runaway Jury, and A Painted House.)

I haven't seen a major difference.

A little more research indicates that you have been a believer the whole time.

So my question is, "Why?" Why use your incredible talent for telling stories and sully it by interlacing the story with swearing, profanity and abuse of the name of Jesus? (Did they really approve of taking the name of the Lord in vain in the church you grew up in?) Why interject nudity and casual sex into what are already compelling works of fiction based on the character development alone?

After reading a handful scattered across several years, I lost hope that John would write a book which was clean. It's not enough to use a gift which is given to you by God. The key is to use that gift in a way which honors the name of the One who gave it.

If I've missed one of your novels which fits that criteria, please let me know. You really are a great storyteller.

Until then, I can't really recommend them to others to read as "Family Friendly."

Professional Xen Virtualization, von Hagen

admin — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 21:31:37 +0000

For the computer professional who has considered consolidating server load using any of the popular server virtualization technologies available, William von Hagen’s book is a must read. We give the book a solid review in the full article.

Professional Xen Virtualization
William von Hagen, 2008
ISBN 978-0-470-13811-3

My purchase of this book was driven by the fact that I was in the middle of trying to learn about Xen, the open source server virtualization platform. I had read reviews on other books related to Xen and had look at sample chapters or tables of contents. Most of the other books appeared to be weak on content, or they were out of date (not difficult in the computer industry).

This is not the case with von Hagen’s work. In a systematic fashion, he begins with the general and works to the specific. The book opens with an overview of the topic of server virtualization. This is good material for the IT manager or bean counter who wants the fiscal reasons for moving to this technology. He also includes a solid review of the many other products and projects available to use for your virtualization platform. I personally appreciated the sterile, clinical approach von Hagen used in giving the pros and cons of each of the items while ultimately listing the good reasons for choosing Xen as the best alternative.

Professional Xen Virtualization gives good step-by-step examples for building your own virtual servers with Xen, including the very basic levels of understanding the Linux boot process and how to obtain and install the Xen software itself. My use of Xen is currently limited to hardware virtual machines (HVM) running on newer Intel processors which support virtualization technology. I ran into a couple of questions with building paravirtualized machines (PVM) and discontinued my exploration since I needed to accelerate my learning of Xen itself related to HVMs.

What I liked about the book was the heart of the content. As a new user to Xen, I had numerous questions related to configuration, what type of filesystem to use, and (very importantly) how networking functions. The author gives good examples, clear definitions of configuration file options and easy to understand overviews of how the various parts of Xen and virtual servers function and interoperate. Furthermore, there are plenty of screenshots, illustrations and other graphics which help to support the text without turning it into a picture book.

I have already used the two appendices repeatedly, as they provide a quick reference to configuration file options and the all-important xm command. Also, I have incorporated several of the tips von Hagen offers which help make managing a virtual server deployment much easier. These include naming conventions, filesystem labeling, virtual interface naming and more.

How could the book be improved? I would like to have seen a more detailed example and overview of routed networking even though the default bridged networking is what most people will use with Xen. Even though von Hagen gives a respectable treatment to various reasons why a virtual server install may fail or have problems, the next edition of this book should expand on this. In my case, an apparent bug or default configuration in my operating system of choice resulted in a hard to fix and find networking error which delayed my progress.

That being said, I made tremendous headway in my Xen installation project by the use of this timely book. I heartily recommend it to anyone considering virtualization in general and Xen in particular. If you would like to purchase this book, please use our link to Amazon, as it benefits our review site.

Dusty Mole Private Eye, Davoll

admin — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 07:07:21 +0000

Barbara Davoll is an author best known for her Christopher Churchmouse series. However, she has written other works. One of the lesser known series is the Molehole Mysteries. We review the first book in the collection, Dusty Mole Private Eye.

Dust Mole Private Eye
Barbara Davoll, 1992
ISBN 0-8024-2700-6

This children’s book follows the adventures of Dusty Mole as he begins his career as a private detective. Dusty is a growing mole in a family of four. His twin sister Musty is every bit as eager to be involved in whatever adventures lie ahead.

Together they work to locate their missing uncle, an associate of the great detective Squirrelock Holmes. In the process they encounter villains who are determined to bring a new danger to the underground community: drugs. Along the way, Dusty and Musty both learn some life lessons which help to shape their character.

Overall, the book fits the age bracket of 6-10 pretty well. The author points out danger points through the thoughts and feelings of the main characters. While older readers might find this pedantic, it fits the younger children well, especially for parents who are looking for teachable moments and opportunities to explain about some of the facts of life in a fallen society.

The Molehole Mysteries series was published in the early 1990s. Used copies of most of the series are available on Amazon’s site. Alas, Moody Publishing no longer even carries a reference to the works on their site.

Pyramid, Macaulay

admin — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 02:54:54 +0000

David Macaulay is well known among educators for his books which educate the reader on the intricacies of subjects such as Medieval fortresses, New England mills and cathedrals. One of his early works is his classic book on the pyramids.

Pyramid
David Macaulay, 1975
ISBN 0-395-32121-2 (PB)
ISBN 0-395-21407-6 (HB)

For those unfamiliar with Macaulay’s work, he is an excellent artist. He has been described by Time magazine as being the best in the world at what he draws. Thus, his books are filled with high quality pen and ink illustrations.

The Pyramid book covers one of the main theories of the construction of the pyramids by following a fictional character, Mahnud Hotep, an architect who is charged with the construction of a great pyramid for the reigning pharaoh. The time period is 2400-2500 B.C.

Macaulay follows the steps that the architect takes all the way from drawing the plans, to clearing and preparation of the building site to determining true North, through the actual construction process.

Although each double page spread is filled with illustrations, the reader is not left short on actual written descriptions. The story line is well written, and the reader is made to feel a part of the process that the architect underwent during the project.

Parents might find objectionable an illustration on pg 74 depicting the funeral scene of the pharaoh in which two Egyptian women are viewed from the back and side without tops. Other than that, the book serves as a well written and illustrated insight into the development of one of the world’s great wonders: the pyramid.

If you would like to purchase this or other books books by David Macaulay, follow this link.

Less Than Entirely Sanctified, Hall

admin — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 17:36:33 +0000

Cartoon and comic books have always been enjoyable to me. Religious-themed books are humorous simply because there is so much that goes on in and around church that is funny. Doug Hall’s book takes a look at church in a way that allows for laughter without inviting sacrilege.

Less Than Entirely Sanctified

Doug Hall, 1992

ISBN 0-8308-1833-2

Doug’s work has appeared frequently in Leadership Journal, for those who are familiar with that publication.

A couple of my favorite cartoons from the book are the preacher standing before a large congregation and saying, “Tonight’s service is at 7:00 Eastern Time. That’s 6:00 Central Time for you folks back in the balcony.”

Then there is the repairman who comes to look at the church furnace with the pastor standing next to him. “Your furnace is pretty outdated. I can see the footprints of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.”

This book may be difficult to find new. However, it is still available through used outlets. I would recommend it for families or children. Doug’s treatment of church life is humorous without crossing the line.

A Fine and Pleasant Misery, McManus

admin — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 17:13:24 +0000

It was my brother who first introduced me to Patrick McManus stories way back when he was regularly published in Field and Stream Magazine. This collection contains some of his early, and, in my opinion, most humorous works.

A Fine and Pleasant Misery

Patrick F. McManus, 1978

ISBN 0-8050-0032-1

McManus tells the stories of the seasoned or aspiring outdoorsman. Drawing on incidents from his childhood and sprinkled with a healthy dose of imagination, he narrates the joys and dangers of building his first raft, the art of dealing with Mr. Grogan, the shrewd owner of the war surplus store in town and the purist motivations behind carrying a backpack that might have concealed a Sherman tank.

Once you have met Rancid Crabtree through the writings of Patrick McManus, you will want to learn more about this dodgy character who knew so much about living in the woods that he was able to name any critter around. (”What’s that bird?” I would ask Rancid. “Thet thar is what ya calls yer little black-and-white bird with a red head,” he would tell me authoritatively.)

When McManus describes what it’s like to be on a mountainside when a thunderstorm rolls through, you may have trouble catching your breath from laughter. (”Well, Retch,” I said, “think of it this way–things just can’t get any worse than they are right now.” In the days that followed we were to look back upon that moment as a time of great good fortune and decadent high living.)

My favorites from this particular collection are “The Big Trip,” “Shooting the Chick-a-nout Narrows,” “The B’ar” and “Cigars, Logging Trucks, and Know-It-Alls.”

My one complaint with McManus is his choice of language. Jerry Clower proved long ago that it is possible to be very funny and very clean at the same time. McManus has a great sense of wit and situational humor without having to drag your mind through the mud with his characters’ use of foul language. (How about it, Pat? Why not take the challenge for a G-rated book?)

Because of this, I can’t recommend this book for children, just like I won’t let my own son read the book. Whenever they hear a Patrick McManus story, it is when I am reading it and editing for content as I go.

If you wish to purchase this book, you can find it at Amazon through this link.

The Healing Power of Pollen, Hanssen

admin — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 04:30:01 +0000

What is pollen? Can it really make you healthier? Do bees get hay fever? What are the health benefits of royal jelly? These are the kind of questions that come to mind when people think about the products that come from the honey bee. We review the book and provide some answers here.

The Healing Power of Pollen and Other Products from the Beehive
Maurice Hanssen, 1979
ISBN 0 7225 0526 4

As a beekeeper, I have had the pleasure of watching my honeybees come back from their trips to the field loaded down with pollen. It is fascinating to sit to the side of a hive and watch the workers land at the entrance and waddle into the hive carrying these large pellets in an array of colors. Yellow, red, orange, grey, an occasional purple or lavender hue are all represented during the height of the Spring nectar flow.

Yet I had never taken much time to really research about the actual health benefits of pollen, even though I had heard comments here and there. So I recently purchased a copy of this book and began reading it.

What impressed me most about this particular book was the number of medical studies (mainly done in the UK or other parts of Europe) that Hanssen cited. A short list of what various medical and natural practitioners have tested pollen for is as follows:

colds
flu
hay fever
asthma
allergies
prostatitis
rheumatism
arthritis
wounds
radiation sickness
hair loss
menopause
menstrual pains
mental concentration
virility
rejuvenation
fatigue (general and also associated with diabetes)

One of the main points behind using pollen as a supplement, according to Hanssen, is that pollen contains a long list of trace minerals, nutrients and vitamins which our bodies need. Depending upon how much processed food one eats, there is a good chance that many of these are missing in our bodies.

Here are some of the minerals that have been identified in pollen:

sodium
potassium
magnesium
calcium
aluminum
iron
copper
zinc
manganese
lead
silica
phosphorus
chlorine
sulphur

The book has numerous testimonials written by persons ranging from professional athletes to mothers of young children to aged businessmen. Each of the letters shares the person’s own story of how pollen supplements improved quality of life.

After reading this book, I am personally determined to give pollen a try as a supplement for a period of time. Even though our family eats on the healthy side of the spectrum, it would be interesting to see if there are any noticeable benefits to such a program.

In doing some research for this article, I actually located a copy of the book online. Since it is apparently out of print, you can read it for free.

If you are considering more research on this, look at this list of books on pollen.